Betting Tip: Costa Rica vs Panama

by Jack Stanley07/17/2017

Betting Tip: The quarter finals of the Confederations Cup begins with this very interesting showdown between Costa Rica and Panama. Los Ticos went into the tournament as a genuine, perceived threat to the USA and Mexico, with both of those selecting under-strength squads for the tournament. But some patchy performances through the group stage of the competition from Costa Rica will probably have punters looking at a potential upset in this quarter final.

Panama’s campaign was always likely to rest on the strengths of their defence, which has produced very well at the World Cup 2018 qualifiers. After finishing second to the USA in their group and remaining unbeaten, they will turn up and give Costa Rica a very stern test in this one and it may all boil down to whether or not Costa Rica’s often misfiring front line can get the better of one of the best defences in the confederation.

Costa Rica Form

Costa Rica went W2 D1 in the group stage, but they should have been a little more comfortable than they were. They only edged past Honduras by a 1-0 scoreline and then had to fight from behind to scrape out a point with Canada. But they rounded off with a comfortable 3-0 win in the final group stage match against minnows French Guiana. If there is one concern about Los Ticos it is their front line not producing enough goals. They have only scored more than one goal in two of their last six. Overall they have gone W3 D3 in their last six and one of those games in that sequence was a draw with Panama in World Cup qualifying.

Panama Form

Panama are currently W2 D4 in their last six games played, however, they are on a two match winning streak at the moment. After holding the USA to a draw in their group opener, Panama then came from behind to strike down Nicaragua before easing to a 3-0 win over Martinique in their final group stage match. So it hasn’t been a bad return from them, being comfortable enough in the group and Gabriel Torres has a couple of goals on the board for them. So they do look as if they can hold their own and notably after two draws with the USA in 2018 World Cup qualifying and one against Mexico, they have proven that they can stick around against the better teams.

Team News

The head to head between the two of them paints a pretty even tale over recent meetings. Over the last six clashes between the two, there have been two wins for each and one draw. Momentum is slightly with Panama though who took a 1-0 win over Costa Rica back in January and they held them to a 0-0 draw in the World Cup Qualifiers just back in June as well. Throughout their entire competitive history through, Costa Rica are W8 D7 L3 against Panama.

Top Betting Tips

It would be a big surprise if there were goals flying around in this quarter final tie. With the last two meetings having gone under 2.5 goals then it is going to be worth following that trend for what should be a tense match. Under 2.5 goals at Betfred is a 4/7 price. Because the game is expected to be low scoring, that will offer some value up in the correct score market as well, where a 1-0 win for either will swing around the 5/1 price. However, one of the best tips for this one is going for a Panama-Draw Double Chance for around even money at Netbet. Their defence can frustrate Los Ticos and could catch them out.

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